Confetti is still used in many celebrations such as weddings, concerts, and awarding ceremonies to make the moment magical and more special. Sadly, not all confetti are eco-friendly or biodegradable and therefore ends up littering the ground remaining in its original form from ten to a hundred years! These confetti options  are normally a mixture of tint hard coloured plastics and glitters, which when blown around outdoors they cannot be collected easily and are often carried away by wind or water and ultimately end up in the ocean and mistaken as food by sea creatures.

The alternative better option is biodegradable confetti, which are normally a collection of colourful bits of paper, flowers and herbs that break down and degrade over a short period of time, under the right conditions (water moisture and bacteria) without causing environmental harm. These biodegradable confetti options are made of natural materials that will blend easily with the soil, leaving no trace of toxin or any harmful components.  

To save money you can make your own confetti at home. For homemade confetti, simply cut tiny pieces out of coloured papers or old magazine pages, or use and leaves of trees, or flower petals (which can be used as fragrant biodegradable confetti), nice smelling biodegradable confetti – always a great option for a romantic touch at wedding events!

Biodegradable confetti are great eco-friendly choices when compared to plastic confetti, however it’s important to consider a couple of extra points before buying or making this.

1. Consider biodegradable confetti without seeds as these can eventually grow- if using seeds ensure you are using these inline with native plants of the area where they will be used as not to harm the balance of the ecosystem or look in that place.
2. Don’t use rice as confetti – first this is often eaten by birds which seems great, however as the rice grains are raw these then expand in their stomach causing issues. Also, people have known to slip on rice grains or get them in their eyes so other great options to not use rice.
3. Make sure you do not package your homemade confetti or buy biodegradable confetti packaged in plastic, as this just adds more to the plastic waste pollution problem!

The packaging of the confetti is another reason to choose biodegradable confetti, most plastic confetti also come packaged in plastic. This can also be true for biodegradable confetti so please check before buying. If you are buying bags of confetti, ensure these too are compostable bags like corn-starch bags! Also check that water soluble ink or biodegradable labels are used instead of harmful ink and plastic-coated labels.

Remember that you can celebrate a special occasion and still be environmentally friendly at the same time!

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